Your water bottle might have as much bacteria as a toilet seat

Do you refill your water bottle regularly? Pat yourself on the back for recycling and keeping hydrated like any responsible person should? Well, a new study has shown that water bottles could be harbouring as much bacteria as a toilet seat.

Yep.

Rex Features

Advertisement

New research from TreadmillReviews.net has revealed that reusable water bottles are in fact covered in germs. The researchers lab-tested refillable water bottles that had been used by athletes over the course of a week and had not been washed in between refilling. They found that the bottle with the highest bacteria count had more bacteria than a toilet seat. Further still, the average person's water bottle was found to have over 300,000 colony forming units of bacteria. That's a lot FYI and certainly enough to make you very sick.

Now, before you totally freak, we in no way want you to begin contributing to an already withering environment by throwing your water bottle out after one go. Instead, wash it well in between refills. Another tip? Invest in a stainless steel bottle (our favourite is undoubtedly S'well bottles), the researchers found that drinking from this is much healthier than plastic alternatives.